Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own gravity, but they never become dense and hot enough to begin fusing hydrogen and turn into a star. At the low end of the scale, some brown dwarfs are comparable with giant planets, weighing just a few times the mass of Jupiter. What are the smallest stars? Astronomers are trying to determine the smallest object…

A new algorithm developed by USC computer science researchers shows that robots can, in computer simulations, learn tasks after a single demonstration. Alone at home, your bones creaky due to old age, you crave a cool beverage. You turn to your robot and say, “Please get me a tall glass of water from the refrigerator.” Your AI-trained companion obliges. Soon, your thirst is quenched. While this scenario still is a decade or more away in terms of a seamless real-world…

Jefferson Lab leads a multidisciplinary team selected by DOE to advance a superconducting approach to advanced computer chip technology. Superconducting technologies are the lifeblood of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility in its ongoing mission to probe the quarks and gluons inhabiting the quantum universe. Superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) technology, a core competency of Jefferson Lab, is used to accelerate the fundamental electron particles in the lab’s Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, enabling researchers from around the…

KIT researchers use deep learning to enhance the spatial and temporal resolution of coarse precipitation maps. Strong precipitation may cause natural disasters, such as floodings or landslides. Global climate models are required to forecast the frequency of these extreme events, which is expected to change as a result of climate change. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now developed a first method based on artificial intelligence (AI), by means of which the precision of coarse precipitation fields generated…

By studying how spider silk responds to sound, researchers at Binghamton University, State University of New York have developed a patent for a brand-new microphone technology. Using biomimicry as a model, Binghamton University Distinguished Professor of Engineering Ron Miles worked with then-doctoral student and current Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Jian Zhou to patent a bio-inspired flow microphone — the very patent that has now been commercialized by the Canadian venture firm TandemLaunch and its spin-off company Soundskrit, which has also recently released both an analog…

This research carried out at the State University of Campinas focused on the use of nanometric optomechanical cavities as bridges between superconducting circuits and optical fibers, with applications in computing and quantum communications. The ability to transmit information coherently in the band of the electromagnetic spectrum from microwave to infrared is vitally important to the development of the advanced quantum networks used in computing and communications. A study conducted by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil,…

In a study that could help fill some holes in quantum theory, the team recreated a “quantum bomb tester” in a classical droplet test. In our everyday classical world, what you see is what you get. A ball is just a ball, and when lobbed through the air, its trajectory is straightforward and clear. But if that ball were shrunk to the size of an atom or smaller, its behavior would shift into a quantum, fuzzy reality. The ball would…

Scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP) have discovered a new plasma instability that promises to revolutionize our understanding of the origin of cosmic rays and their dynamic impact on galaxies. At the beginning of the last century, Victor Hess discovered a new phenomenon called cosmic rays that later on earned him the Nobel prize. He conducted high-altitude balloon flights to find that the Earth’s atmosphere is not ionized by the radioactivity of the ground. Instead, he confirmed…

Rice study uncovers new ways to make ordered wafer-scale chiral carbon nanotube architectures. Chiral materials interact with light in very precise ways that are useful for building better displays, sensors and more powerful devices. However, engineering properties such as chirality reliably at scale is still a significant challenge in nanotechnology. Rice University scientists in the lab of Junichiro Kono have developed two ways of making wafer-scale synthetic chiral carbon nanotube (CNT) assemblies starting from achiral mixtures. According to a study in Nature Communications,…

– a step towards more sustainable superconductor applications. The study by Politecnico di Milano, Chalmers University of Technology, and Sapienza University of Rome, published in Nature Communications. Taking a significant step forward in superconductivity research, the discovery could pave the way for sustainable technologies and contribute to a more environmentally friendly future. The study just published in Nature Communications by researchers from Politecnico di Milano, Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg and Sapienza University of Rome sheds light on one…

Scientists are developing an experiment to test whether gravity is quantum – one of the deepest questions about our universe. Scientists are developing an experiment to test whether gravity is quantum In quantum mechanics, which describes the behaviour of atoms and molecules –objects behave differently to everything we know: they can be in a quantum superposition of being in two places at the same time Now, scientists are investigating a way to determine whether gravity operates in this way, by…

Like a shiny, round ornament ready to be placed in the perfect spot on a holiday tree, supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A) gleams in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. As part of the 2023 Holidays at the White House, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden debuted the first-ever White House Advent Calendar. To showcase the “Magic, Wonder, and Joy” of the holiday season, Dr. Biden and NASA are celebrating with this new image…

EPFL researchers have developed a hybrid device that significantly improves existing, ubiquitous laser technology. EPFL researchers have developed a hybrid device that significantly improves existing, ubiquitous laser technology. The team at EPFL’s Photonic Systems Laboratory (PHOSL) has developed a chip-scale laser source that enhances the performance of semiconductor lasers while enabling the generation of shorter wavelengths. This pioneering work, led by Professor Camille Brès and postdoctoral researcher Marco Clementi from EPFL’s School of Engineering represents a significant advance in the…

…unlock new potential for brain science. Goggles enabled researchers to study responses to overhead threats for first time. Northwestern University researchers have developed new virtual reality (VR) goggles for mice. Besides just being cute, these miniature goggles provide more immersive experiences for mice living in laboratory settings. By more faithfully simulating natural environments, the researchers can more accurately and precisely study the neural circuitry that underlies behavior. Compared to current state-of-the-art systems, which simply surround mice with computer or projection…

When we last checked in with Caltech’s Kerry Vahala three years ago, his lab had recently reported the development of a new optical device called a turnkey frequency microcomb that has applications in digital communications, precision time keeping, spectroscopy, and even astronomy. This device, fabricated on a silicon wafer, takes input laser light of one frequency and converts it into an evenly spaced set of many distinct frequencies that form a train of pulses whose length can be as short…

A navigation belt helps visually impaired people to reach their destination. You enter the route you want to take via an app, press “start” and the belt guides you in the right direction like a compass. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research Denkendorf (DITF) have developed a contacting process with which this orientation aid – and e-textiles in general – can be produced more economically and conveniently. When you have to turn into a street, the naviBelt® from…